Hartford, Conn. – Senior forward Shantel Hanniford (Nantucket, Mass.) had 14 points, eight rebounds, and a blocked shot to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 60-55 win over the visiting Worcester State University Lancers in women's basketball action this evening at Ray Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity improves to 2-4 with its first win in five games, while the Lancers fall to 3-4.
Trailing, 38-32, at halftime thanks to 7-for-11 shooting from three-point range in the first half by the Lancers, Trinity opened the second half with an 18-2 run to take a 50-40 lead with under 11 minutes left in the second stanza, and held off Worcester State in the final minutes. Hanniford scored Trinity's first two baskets after the break to ignite the run and totaled six of the 18 points Bantam points during it.
Trinity opened strong, taking an 11-4 lead after a pair of free throws by junior Taylor Higgins (Merrick, N.Y.) at the 16:17 mark. Worcester State rallied to take a 14-13 lead with 11:32 on the clock after a jumper by senior tri-captain guard Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield, Mass.). Hanniford scored five in a row to pull Trinity even at 26-26 with 6:32 left before intermission, but Burns and sophomore guard Julie Frankien (Millbury, Mass.) rattled off eight straight points between them for a 34-26 Lancer lead inside the three-minute mark and the pair totaled 21 of Worcester State's 38 points in the opening half.
Two free throws by Trinity sophomore center Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn.) gave Trinity its only double-digit lead after the second-half Bantam run, but the visitors rallied to score seven points in a row to make the score, 50-47, with 8:34 remaining. The Bantams kept their advantage of at least five points until a layup by Burns pulled the Lancers to within 56-53 with 3:42 left to play. Worcester State made a defensive stop to regain possession, but Trinity rookie Sheena Landy (Durham, Conn.) stole the ball in the Lancer backcourt and converted a fast-break layup to push the lead back to five. A pair from the charity stripe by Worcester State sophomore guard Kiesha Jones (Worcester, Mass.) put the score at 58-55, but a drive by Hanniford with 15 seconds left put the game away.
Trinity outrebounded Worcester State, 42-32, and forced 19 turnovers while committing 14. The Bantam defense held the Lancers to five field goals in 19 attempts in the second half and made 14 of its own 16 free throws. Trinity seniors Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass.) and Taylor Murtaugh (Bronx, N.Y.) joined Hanniford in double figures in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Brickley also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and made six of her nine shots from the field, and Murtaugh added six boards. Higgins dished out seven assists and Griffin corralled six rebounds for the Bantams.
Burns paced Worcester State with 17 points to go with five rebounds and four assists but had six turnovers, while Frankian added 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and Jones scored 12 points. Senior tri-captain center Emily Barrett (Dracut, Mass.) led the Lancers underneath with a game-high 12 rebounds and a blocked shot.